Berlin [Germany], October 26: The Palestinian Authority is calling on the international community to intervene in response to the actions of Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank.
The authority said on Saturday that the measures in the Hebron area - including displacement of residents, demolition of houses and buildings, and sealing off towns - constitute collective punishment. It stated that this escalation would bring neither security nor peace to anyone, but would only fuel further tensions.
On Friday morning, a shooting near Hebron in the West Bank left two soldiers dead and three others injured. The two suspected perpetrators, Palestinians from Hebron, were killed.
In response to the attack, Israel said on Friday that it had launched an anti-terror operation in the Hebron area.
According to the military, the operation - involving the army, intelligence services, border police and the civil administration - is confined to the area from which the terrorists operated and is expected to last several days.
Hebron mayor: 2,200 people displaced Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari told the Arabic-language broadcaster Al Jazeera that 2,200 people had been displaced from their homes since the raids began on Friday.
He said the Ibrahimi Mosque, a landmark of Hebron also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, had been closed off, all staff had to leave it and prayers there were banned.
After Israel's decision to seal off the city, residents could neither enter nor leave Hebron, al-Jabari said. These claims cannot currently be independently verified.
Military operation coincides with end of election campaign Israel is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on Tuesday.
Security issues and the approach to the West Bank are central themes of the election campaign.
While right-wing parties are canvassing for votes by calling for a tough stance against Palestinian violence, they have barely addressed attacks by radical Israeli settlers on the Palestinian civilian population during the campaign.
Source: Qatar Tribune